Three people have been killed and ten injured in an grenade attack at Nirankari Bhawan in Amritsar's Rajasansi village, a senior police official said today. The religious sect has a large following all over the world and has centres across the country. Surinder Pal Singh Parmar, a senior officer, said the injured have been taken to the hospital. The grenade was lobbed by bike-borne persons at a religious congregation of 'Nirankaris' which was being held the village. The attack took place amid a high alert that Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terrorists had entered the Punjab and were "planning to move towards Delhi". Police are analyzing CCTV footage and trying lo identify attackers. The terror angle is not being ruled out. "It (this incident) appears to have a terror angle. Because it is against a group (of people) and it is not against any individual. There is no reason to throw a hand grenade on a group of people, so we will take it as a terrorist act. Till proven otherwise, prima facie we will take it as that," Punjab Director General of Police Suresh Arora told news agency PTI.
"I appeal to the people of Punjab to maintain peace in wake of Amritsar blast. I urge them not to panic and to remain calm. We will not let the forces of terror destroy our hard earned peace," Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh said.
Here are the latest updates on Nirankari Bhawan blast:
Three dead & twenty injured in the blast. We are counting it as a terror act. We will find out other details in the further investigation: Punjab DGP Suresh Arora on the blast in Amritsar district. #Punjab pic.twitter.com/ItYksYFibE
- ANI (@ANI) November 18, 2018
Strongly condemn the bomb blast at Nirankari Bhawan in Amritsar. Have asked Home Secy and @PunjabPoliceInd DGP, DGP Intelligence and DGP Law & Order to rush to the spot to investigate.
- Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) November 18, 2018
